Love and War
by lm2k6
Summary: Troy ends his and Ryan's secret relationship. Ryan , hurt and confused, accepts Sharpay's urging and decides to hurt Troy right back. The War begins! TRYAN SLASH! i.e. MM relationship  Don't like, don't read!
1. The End of the First Battle

_**The End of the First Battle**_

"Did you really think this would last?" Troy asks me. "I mean, c'mon, I really care about you-" I open my mouth to issue a desperate rebuke, to point out that if he did he wouldn't be saying this to me. That he wouldn't be ending the best relationship that I've ever had. "-but we're just so different! I really enjoyed our time together, but… this couldn't ever go anywhere. We could never go public, the backlash would destroy m- I mean us! You _know that_!" and the words stop in my throat. He sounds as if – almost as if – he's trying to convince himself. He's trying to justify to himself why this thing we have, that I cherished so much it hurt, has to end. Hope blooms in my chest like a snowdrop as I try desperately to tell him that, yes, I do think it could go somewhere, but yet again Troy Bolton is first off the mark. "I can't handle it anymore. It's too much for me… I'm sorry." Not as much as me, I think bitterly. No where near as much as me. He walks up the theatre aisle, breaking into a jog halfway and slams the doors behind him as he flees. As he leaves me. Troy Bolton has once again left me to pick up my shattered pride and broken heart. I take one last look around the silent empty hall, and I muster what's left of my dignity like a coat against the creeping numbness spreading through me. The quiet fire in my gut does this better though, fuelled by my anger at society, my resentment towards my ex. It helps me feel alive. While it is a poor substitute for Troy, who used to comfort me, who was exciting and exhilarating and just so damn amazing it scared me how fast I was falling for him, it does what it's meant to. It helps me feel something other than despair; it dams up the heartbreak raging against my emotional walls. It tells me that I didn't stop living as soon as Troy broke it off with me, but such a concentration of negativity is like poison. It sours the heart and pollutes the soul and _yes thanks_ I'm only too aware of this yet I can't help cling to the illusion of strength it gives me. That I'll need if I'm to get some kind of equilibrium while Troy gets together with Gabriella in a desperate attempt to convince himself that he likes girls. Of course, it was possible I was yet again just an experiment, that I was simply a- I try to crush that line of thought, because I honestly couldn't fend off those old hurts and the fresh blows delivered only recently. I fumble blindly in my pocket for my cell, and clumsily punch in Sharpay's number.

"What is it, Ryan?" she snaps. "I'm busy because, unlike you, I have a life."

"Shar, I- I mean I" I stutter out, barely holding back the sobs trying to escape.

"What happened? Are you okay? Ryan? Ryan! Where are you?" she demands.

"Th-theatre." I choke out.

"Stay there! I'm on my way – and your gonna explain how weird you've been these last couple months." She orders, concern lacing her harsh words. Then her next words reminded of just why I love my sister like I do.

"No matter what it is, we'll deal. It'll be okay – I promise."

Sharpay surprised me to an extent by accepting my orientation without question. She did, however, take issue with the fact that I was with Troy Bolton for 5 months and didn't inform her ("Don't do that ever again. Ever. I mean it.") and by the time I had dredged up mine and Troy's time together I was feeling slightly better about the whole thing – the hole in my heart was still there, but the pain less acute. My sister, in contrast, was getting angrier by the second.

"What the hell made him think he could do this to you?! No one and I mean **no one**, messes with my brother and gets off 100 free. No, no, no, I'm gonna make sure that from now on his entire life is forfeit.

"Shar-"

"He'll be lucky to work in a sweatshop by the time I'm finished with him!"

"Sharpay!"

"I'm going to send his entire world crashing down around his shoulders! That stupid jock and his little hussy invade _my theatre _and hurt _my bro_? He won't even know what hit him!"

I grasped my sister firmly by the shoulders and said in as level a voice as I could manage "No." Sharpay looked appalled by this, so I hurried to elaborate.

"Troy… is just scared. He got frightened and ran off. And as for Gabriella, she doesn't have a clue about us. No one does, except you. So it wouldn't be fair to make her life hell just because she's attractive." Sharpay still looked extremely put out by this, but acquiesced reluctantly on payback at Gabriella. On Troy, however, she was unmoveable.

"I don't care if he is just scared to come out of the closet! If he was going to back out crying, he shouldn't have gone with you in the first place. No, as far as I'm concerned he's… he's…," Sharpay's face lit up at her internal revelation, "He's biting his thumb at you! He's gotta pay for messing with you like that!" The spiteful, hurt side of me was crying out for a metaphorical pound of flesh and in my weakness I reluctantly nodded.

"But later. Just now I just want to go home." I pleaded. My sister nodded and in a rare show of empathy linked our arms.

"C'mon then, while we're on the Shakespeare theme, I'm sure we could find my Romeo+Juliet DVD. Ooh and we've got like a ton of ice cream and stuff! C'mon, Leonardo DiCaprio, Ben and Jerry! You'll forget all about stupid Troy Bolton!"

We both knew that she was lying, but I appreciated the show of solidarity nonetheless.

Besides, the more I thought about that stupid big jock, the better some payback sounded. If he was never intending to come out, was he just using me like the others? I could only guess the answer was yes. Hurtful sonnovabitch. He sure as hell wasn't the only one that could hurt; I have a malicious streak too. After all, what goes around comes around, right?

The funny feeling in my gut must just be from missing lunch…..


	2. Theatres of War

_**Theatres of War**_

"You're sure you can pull this off?" my sister asks me.

"Yeah, I am." I'm just not sure that I should. After all, I know exactly what'll happen to Troy if this works, and it would probably crush him… oh yeah. I can totally do this.

"Remember to turn on the waterworks. Oh, and ham it up a little, but not too much. We want this to be believable." Yeah, I know. Sharpay and I spent long enough deciding how to get back at _him_, I was totally ready to just destroy Troy and start to build my life again. We argued long and hard about different methods of payback ("No, Sharpay, castration isn't a viable option!") before finally agreeing on our current strategy. I know just how much this will affect him. After all, I know him like no other person on the planet.

"Go!" she hisses at me, and I fling myself through the door in front of me. I fall back against the wall and allow myself to slide down it sobbing.

I find it all too easy to act distraught; I simply have to dwell on the sweet nothings, the tender kisses Troy Bolton bestowed upon me when we were together and the tears prick at the back of my eyes.

"Mr. Evans? Goodness, whatever is the matter!" That's Darbus for ya – falls for a good performance hook, line and sinker. I try to feign surprise at finding my drama teacher in the otherwise empty room.

"O-oh! Mrs. Darbus, I'm so sorry, I didn't know anyone was in here and, and, he was just _so cruel_ and I had to get away-"

Rather worryingly, she immediately wraps her arms around my neck in what she obviously assumes is a comforting manner. I feel kinda bad about fooling her like this because, after all, I of all people know how it feels to be used. I just so badly want to hurt Troy back that my ethics have to take a back seat for now.

"Shh, shhh, shhh. Come now, Ryan. What's wrong? Who is he?" It's like one of Kelsi's scripts, how perfectly my drama teacher plays into our hands, saying exactly what she needs to.

"It's… no, I can't tell you. The basketball team would kill me if I did, and no one would believe me because he's just too popular!" I think this might be my finest performance yet.

"Who? What did this person say to upset you so?"

Time for act II, ladies and gentlemen. Time for revenge.

"It was… it was Troy Bolton. He was calling me stuff, like **fag **and **homo** and **queer**, and everyone was laughing and jeering and I just ran as fast as I could. What is so bad about being homosexual? Why can't people just accept me the way I am? I'm not hurting anyone just being myself, am I?" Again, the act isn't hard to put on. I've been discriminated against enough to accumulate real frustration with these small-minded idiots.

"I just don't know what to do. He just won't acc- I mean, he just won't leave me alone!" I use my most pitiful tone in an attempt to garner more sympathy. I do feel awful about this lie, as I feel it's almost… disrespectful to the people who really do suffer this. But I'm in far too deep now for regret. I have to inflict the same anguish on Troy as he has on me. I won't back down now it's simply not an option.

"Ryan… you did the right thing in telling me. You're absolutely right; there is no place in this school – in a civilised society – for that kind of bias. I think that we should go to the principal about this."

The spiteful side of me is cheering, and I bury my face in my arms to hide the satisfied smirk dawning on my face. I'm especially looking forward to this next part, as her reaction will be just so predictable.

"I would, miss, but it's Troy Bolton! The school would hate me more than they already do if I told on him and if people were to find out it was me. Plus, Coach Bolton won't be too happy about his son getting pulled in to the principal's office! He'll make my life a living hell!" Really, the near-hysteria in my tone should be enough to win an Oscar, or at the very least an Emmy.

Just as me and Sharpay predicted it would, Darbus's face adopted a defiant, angry expression.

"Ryan, don't concern yourself with that plebeian, simple minded fool, or his homophobic son. This old thespian still has some fight left in her, and I'll back you up the whole way. The report will be anonymous for everyone but the principal, your name won't be involved once and I'll make sure that brutish coach will have to go through me first to get anywhere near you." She chuckles softly and explains to me "After all, I can hardly have one of my best pupils so upset. All this drama would be better off on the stage."

Right on cue, Sharpay bursts through the door in a flurry of apparent concern and anxiety.

She looks me dead in the eye and tells me "Ryan, I just heard about what happened with that stupid jock! How did the," Sharpay pauses briefly and her eyes dart from mine to the unaware teacher beside me quickly before resuming her gaze with me, "confrontation work out?"

I bow my head slightly and tell her "Exactly the way we thought it would."

Sharpay looks briefly smug, before she addresses Darbus with her shrill voice.

"You can't let Troy get away with what he's doing to my brother! This has to stop! Please, do something!"

Darbus nods solemnly and tells her that we were just going to see about pursuing the allegations.

The first part of the plan worked, so now we see how the second phase progresses.

"Oh! My! GOD!" a blonde cheerleader whose name I forget hurtles towards my sister and me at lunch several days later.

"You'll never guess what happened! Troy Bolton – yes, the Troy Bolton – was pulled from the basketball team! It's unbelievable! No one knows why, and Troy just isn't saying anything about it." No sooner had she said this, my ex-lover stormed into the cafeteria like wrath incarnate. Fury and confusion were written all across his familiar face. I deliberately catch his eyes, and share a high five and a grin with my sister, my gaze not moving from his. The confusion is replaced with sheer hatred, and I shiver at the unbridled rage in Troy's eyes.

I can't help but feel that my achieving my revenge hasn't finished this chapter of my life; it's just begun a more trying one.

**Thanks to those who left reviews and favourites, it really did mean a lot. Input from everyone is both welcomed and enjoyed, so if you have any particular route you want the story to take, I'll try my best to accommodate.**


	3. Cry Havoc

_**Cry Havoc**_

"Revenge does not long remain unrevenged" – _German Proverb_

Ryan was on his way to the cafeteria for lunch to meet up with Sharpay when a hand roughly grabbed his arm. He was yanked into a nearby utility closet. The acrid scent of bleach was offset by a much more overwhelming, and intimately familiar smell that immediately told Ryan the identity of his abductor despite his dark surroundings.

"What do you want, Bolton?" he demanded impatiently. The blonde had been quite happily ignoring the ex-basketball player since Troy's suspension a week ago, but he had anticipated this conversation since the start of Sharpay's plan. Ryan had played it out in his mind a thousand times, imagining brushing the raging Troy off, denying any knowledge of the accusations and walking away as if he wasn't worth his time.

However, Ryan hadn't for one moment expected to be pinned by a pair of watery grey eyes made visible by the light creeping in from under the door, and be asked simply "Why would you do that to me?"

"Why? Why! Why would you just give up on me? On _us_?" Ryan retorted. "You hurt me, Troy. You goddammed near broke me! I think it's only fair that I get a little payback," he spat, "and don't give me that bull about ruining everything because you know just as well as I do that you'll be back playing on the team by next semester and the school will be back to its preppy norm."

"NO!" Troy shot back. "You need to tell the principal that it's all lies! This could go on my permanent record, how well do you think that's gonna go over with any colleges I apply to? Ryan, I know we didn't end so good but this could affect my entire future! Gabriella isn't talking to me because I'm 'just another bigoted jock'," Ryan felt decisively satisfied by this, "and my mom's talking about me getting my priorities straight! Please, if you ever cared about me, fix this. Do what's right." Troy almost whispered the last words.

Ryan wasn't in a particularly sympathetic mood however, and told him flat out no before turning to leave. He had barley turned around before strong arms wrapped around his waist and he was pulled flat against his ex lover.

"Please. Do this for me. Otherwise… who knows what the rest of the guys on the basketball team could do. Even though we're not together anymore, I don't want you to get hurt." The soothing words brought into sharp focus the previously receding ache in the blonde twin's chest, who angrily shook off the athlete and stumbled into the empty hallway.

"Ryan! Don't do this, or we will get our own back." Troy called after him.

Ryan didn't spare a glance for Troy… but did allow himself the satisfaction of flipping him off.

Ryan and - once she was brought up to speed- Sharpay, didn't spend lose a great deal of sleep over the basketball team's threat of retribution. Without sounding too arrogant, the Evans wealth rendered them untouchable to just about any repercussions the jocks could throw at them. The twin's formidable fitness and (expensive) self-defence capabilities meant that a physical threat was a moot point, while Sharpay's more aggressive tendencies and popularity stopped any rumours the team might spread. They had more pressing concerns anyway with the upcoming auditions for the spring show; another of Kelsi's creations called 'Diving Lines, Unbreakable Bonds' about a brother and sister torn apart amid the bloodshed of World War Two-era occupied France was quite literally written with the twins in mind. Sharpay was confident that, with Gabriella and Troy at odds over the homophobia accusations, a return to their former glory was inevitable.

On this particular Monday morning, the twins arrived late to school and had entered homeroom to find the place in an uproar. Rings of students dotted the landscape of the classroom, talking furiously. At the centre of the circus, Kelsi was sitting with her head in her hands while Gabriella and Taylor were obviously trying to comfort the distraught girl.

"What is going on in here?!" Sharpay demanded. All conversation in the room stopped, and several people couldn't meet either of the Evans twins' eyes. It was Kelsi that finally looked up and told them "They're cancelling the show."

"WHAT!" Sharpay exclaimed, while a dazed Ryan simply asked "Why?"

"Apparently, last night some thugs broke in and tore the auditorium apart. The sound systems, the lighting, and heck even the stage floor was ripped up. The walls were covered in graffiti and lots of chairs were ripped up. The room isn't fit to hold an audience, never mind a production… the repairs just won't be ready in time." Kelsi finished and resumed rubbing her forehead.

"Well… do they have any idea who did it?" The male twin asked weakly, and both Ryan and Sharpay scowled when a familiar voice answered.

"I think it was some kids from West High," Chad piped up from the back of the room causing several people to turn and look, "Tryin' to get even for the last game."

Several people in the room nodded in agreement, and the whispered discussions flared up again. Ryan's eyes travelled up past Chad to the person sitting behind him. Troy looked up, and his and the blonde's eyes locked. The basketball player smirked and winked, before mouthing 'Well?'

'That's it,' Ryan though, 'The gloves are off now!'

**So... yeah, tell me what you think. Critisism, Praise, ideas - all feedback is encouraged and accepted. Really big thanks to the reviewers and people who put this on story alert - really made my day **


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